One Big Thing: Simple yet effective

I’m a real sucker for procrastination and forgetfulness, which gives me the qualification to honestly review this app. One Big Thing is essentially a to-do list that is a great start for people to set their priorities straight and clear their mind, made by indie developer Nick Burka.

The app is easy to use. Type up your one Big Thing then follow-up with some Little Things. Scroll down and you’ll find a list of ‘Other things I might do’. Swipe to the left and get organised for the next day. Boom, you’re sorted. Want to remind yourself of your tasks every morning? It’ll give you a “friendly nudge” at 8am.

In the settings, you get the chance to choose which days you want to be notified at 8. You can also buy different themes, stickers and an archive of the previous 60 days of tasks. That’s all there is, and that’s all I wanted.

“There are heaps of ways people use to-dos and this specific one is sometimes called the “1-3-5 Rule”. I didn’t invent the idea, but I think I’ve created the best app for it. Every other task app I’ve tried had too many bells and whistles, made me feel bad for not getting tasks done, or let tasks pile up in a way that felt overwhelming. I wanted something dead simple with just a light sprinkling of delight on top, so I created One Big Thing.”

– Nick Burta

At first, I didn’t really like it, but I stuck with it. There wasn’t as many notifications as I wanted and I wouldn’t get all the tasks done. But later on, I realised that I wouldn’t be able to do those jobs anyway. Other similar apps have always put me on edge whereas this one doesn’t make me feel regret. It’s a move-on-it’s-cool method that maintains my motivation and actually eases me into being more efficient.

In other words, this is an incredible app when it comes to subconsciously making me work more effectively. It taught me to not push myself too hard and to be a lot more positive and resilient. All through one app.